Key Steps For Women Influence In Leadership Guide For Business
Since the world has taken long strides in enhancing gender equality in the workplace, women in leadership are becoming commonplace. Many women are actually rising above stereotypes and doing a great job in leadership roles in businesses. Hence, it has become important to understand women’s influence in leadership and find ways in which other willful women can be better leaders.
You will find several articles about leadership and how leaders influence businesses. However, in this article, you will learn how women leaders positively influence leadership roles in businesses. Apart from that, you will also find out about how a woman can become an influential leader and can rightly manage similar roles in businesses. Hence, to learn how to enhance the ability of leadership read on through to the end of the article.
The Need For Women’s Power To Influence Leadership In Business
The first thing is servant leadership. It is one of the common traits among all leaders across the world, especially women leaders. This means dealing with the juniors at their level and meeting people where they are at. Here, you recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your juniors and help them in applying their strengths at the right place.
According to an article on Coursera.org, “In talking to women in leadership positions across the corporate world, start-ups, non-profit sector, and community, one shared value that stands out is a spirit of servant leadership. Servant leadership is when a leader focuses on the well-being and growth of their community members as a means toward collective progress. It’s leading by lifting.”
There are a lot more things a woman can do. One of the essential things that is found in leaders of all types, no matter what their gender is, is that they always push their comfort zones from time to time. Hence, as a woman, you should not wait to meet a particular leadership criterion. You must start now and push yourself beyond your comfort zone.
As per an article in Business News Daily, “Men often apply for a job when they meet 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. This finding implies that women subconsciously believe that if they don’t meet the job criteria exactly, they’re not suitable for the position and they won’t be considered. Because of this self-doubt, they don’t throw their hat into the ring.”
However, there are many more things you, as a woman, are capable of accomplishing, which you can also hold a position of influence and leadership. There are some key areas on which you must focus, including your approach to influence, your planning, your reputation, as well as your resilience regarding your projects.
Influence In Leadership: What Should Be Your Approach?
Your first approach towards becoming a strong leader is how your approach is towards influencing others. You need to have exceptional relationship and communication skills. You need to develop yourself to be an influential person, and your style of influencing others is worth appreciating.
Here, you need to understand your own style and adjust your influencing and communication approach. To do this, you will need to be fully aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. This, in turn, will help contribute to your next area, which is your reputation.
You can only build up your reputation by interacting with others. It means that you will be in a better position to assess how you behave with others and also how others perceive you. Do they really see you as a leader? – This is a question that must be on your mind.
To build a reputation, HULT International Business School recommends – “Take account of the language you use, how you use your voice, your body language, and the overall visual impression you create. But more than this, if you want to be regarded as positive and trustworthy, then you must demonstrate a range of characteristics that truly help to build this reputation.”
To become a leader, another thing you need to focus on is resilience. To develop resilience, you will need to first enhance your focus and use your mindfulness at the right place at the right time. Furthermore, you must also learn how not to take unnecessary pressure. You need to learn how to say “No” to situations that you do not want.
Influence In Leadership: Career Tips For Women To Be Better Leaders
Leadership is influence. However, to have better leadership influence in a business environment, you will need to figure out quickly what works for you and what does not. Hence, you need to plan properly and strategize your goals as per your career.
The following are some career tips for you that can help you become a better leader:
- Don’t wait till you are ready. Get rid of your self-doubt, and try your best, without which nothing can be accomplished.
- Always focus on growth, and always learn and grow based on what role you are thinking of next.
- Never let rejection get on your head, and stop worrying about other people’s opinions of you. Learn that you will never be able to make everyone happy.
- Have a good understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses. Enhance your strengths and work on your weaknesses.
- Learn about your own values, and always try to look for a work environment that allows you to pursue your goals.
- Try to embrace your natural style of leadership. You do not need to become someone else to be a leader. Be genuine.
Summing Up
Once you have leadership capabilities, it is hard for others not to notice that. However, biases, stereotypes, and unfair play cannot be denied either. Hence, you will need to strategize your moves correctly and not worry about unnecessary situations. Be bold, and face what comes your way. That is exactly how leaders are made. Hope these aforementioned career tips become helpful for you to have a better influence in leadership in a business environment. Can you name some leadership traits that are essential for women to develop? Share some of them with us in the comments section below.
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